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One hit in shootout at 15th and Union — UPDATE

One person was reported hit by gunfire in a shootout involving at least one vehicle Monday afternoon near 15th and Union.

Seattle Fire was called to the scene around 1:45 PM to treat the victim who, according to East Precinct radio reports, was hit in the crossfire. We do not have further victim information at this time.

Police were searching for at least one vehicle reported fleeing the scene and a shooter seen leaving on foot.

Police closed the area to traffic as they collected evidence and shell casings.

UPDATE: SPD says the victim’s injuries are not life threatening:

Police investigating shooting near 15th and Union. One person struck in the leg, non life-threatening injury. Suspects in car shot at group standing in bus stop who returned fire at car. Both groups fled the scene. Additional information will be posted when available.

UPDATE x2: Police say the victim, an adult male, was not involved in the altercation:

A man in his 30’s was struck in the lower leg after occupants of a car and two young men standing near a bus stop began shooting at each other Monday afternoon near 15th Avenue and East Union Street. The victim is being treated at the hospital for a non life-threatening injury. Just before 2:00 pm on Monday, September 3rd, East Precinct officers responded to a report of “shots fired” in the 1500 block of East Union. Officers arrived quickly and located the victim with the injury to his leg. Seattle Fire responded and treated the victim at the scene, and then transported him to the hospital for further treatment. It was determined that the victim was uninvolved in the dispute between the two parties and was simply an uninvolved pedestrian. The investigation showed that a light blue vehicle, possibly a Dodge, was driving slowly along Union Street near 16th Avenue. Two young men were walking near the bus stop when one of the occupants of the Dodge began shooting at the two on the sidewalk. At least one of the pedestrians fired back at the Dodge. It is unknown if any of the individuals were struck. The pedestrians fled northbound on 16th and the Dodge drove off westbound on Union. Despite an extensive area search, officers were unable to locate the vehicle or the suspects that ran. Officers located and collected shell casings, bullet fragments, and shattered car glass from the scene. This remains an active and on-going investigation.

The shooting follows efforts by SPD to calm a spate of gun violence in the area following a string of shootings and drivebys in August. Police officials have said the violence stems from a resurgence in personal disputes and tensions between gangs in the Central District and South Seattle.

15 thoughts on “One hit in shootout at 15th and Union — UPDATE”

So whatever happened to all those community meetings about gun violence last week? I don’t know about you guys but I’m pretty tired of reading about random shootings within a few blocks of where I live. I was actually out walking to Trader Joe’s around 1 PM and if I’d waited 45 minutes I would have been walking right past where this happened. Pretty spooky.

I was also nearby at that time. But I have a broader view. I am also tired of reading about random shootings in areas of the city and country and world which I do not frequent. It’s not about creating pockets of seeming safety, but actual global safety as we are all connected.

I was thinking more or less the same thing from a slightly different angle. This is the sort of crap that many communities have had to endure for years— all that many communities have known. Now we have a few pontificating, grandstanding politicians making a big noise about it like it’s something new, when it’s been here all along for lots of people. I’m tired of it too. For everybody.

When are there going to be more Vehicular or foot patrols on the streets. The guy that was shot is one of my best friends and I had to read about this 3500 miles away. Seattle police need to exercise more due care with the citizens neighborhoods rather than to be seen and not heard. This is unacceptable as The police need to be held more accountable for An active presence in or on the surrounding neighborhoods.

Where do you live that the cops can maintain an active foot presence in half the city at once? Because that’s about what it would take to be almost everywhere all the time. I’m sure the SPD would like to hear how that’s done.

I don’t disagree that increased patrols are a good thing, but there are a lot of spots that would need them a lot more than 15th and Union. This just wouldn’t be a hot-spot that cops would likely devote much attention to. And perps won’t whip out their guns when cops are around anyway.

The police have a responsibility to analyze and shut down activity like this. They need to figure out who were the perps and figure out what happened. If drug or gang related they need to address as necessary. But this is a systemic issue that the police need to address. Drugs and gangs are running rampant in Seattle.

And almost all these shootouts involve at least one (usually two) cars speeding away. It’s not like a foot patrol cop could chase them down. Foot patrols are needed in places with lots of people, like the Pike/Pine corridor on weekends.

I was walking by the two “gang” houses on 27th and Spring the other day and was happy to see a group of people fixing up the house on the west side of 27th, They told me that some members of the family who own the property had moved in but did not have the resources to clean it up so these folks were helping. Apparently the walls in the house were covered with gang graffiti. I have been wondering about the memorial outside on the corner for a long time and was told it was a tribute to a member of the aforementioned family who had died of a heart attack.

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